Big Bad Email

Big Bad DVDs - LAST CALL ATTENTION BIGBAD FAMILIES AND FRIENDS:Now that the dust has settled a little from the BigBad (and AMAZING) Musical, if you wanted to order a DVD but didn ...
Posted Oct 20, 2011, 9:34 AM by Unknown user

Opening Night 9/22From the Director
Parents and students last night beautiful! I hope the kids get a little rest tonight and tomorrow. The show
is wonderful. We had a little confusion at ...
Posted Oct 20, 2011, 9:32 AM by Unknown user

Special Edition: From Mr. WickerDear Castle Hills Parents,I want to thank each of the families, parents, and children who have invested so much of their heart and soul into our production this year ...
Posted Sep 18, 2011, 2:46 PM by Unknown user

From the Director
Parents and students last night beautiful! I hope the kids get a little rest tonight and tomorrow. The show
is wonderful. We had a little confusion at the end, but theatrical
tradition begs, "Bad Dress, Great Opening!" And, after all it is the
BigBad Musical!

Everyone should be at Nimitz no later than 5:30pm. Whatever
parents can do to get ready at home will help the evening performance
run smoother tomorrow. If some of the make up can be done at home, this
will help. If children arrive in costume, this will help. If you have
time to run lines of the ending of the play, this will help.

Good Show! It has been an intense production week, but all will fair well, in the end.

Thank you! Amy

All Call Thurs & Friday, 5:25 pm

Please your actors in in the breezeway near the entrance to green room (band hall).

See notes from hospitality below.

If you still have ticket needs you'll check them at the theater. I believe I read that Friday may be sold out.

All Call Friday morning

Children follow the normal morning schedule, eat breakfast at home or durng regular breakfast hours at school.

Report before the tardy bell, dressed in character, to their regular classes.

Reminder:
Children signed out of the school after the performance will not be
able to perform Friday evening without following the district's policy
of providing a doctor's release to return to school/extra curricular
activities that day.

From your Hospitality Volunteers

Finger Foods provided prior to each Night Performances from 5:30-6:00:
will be served for the cast members before the Thursday and Friday
evening performances from 5:30-6:00 pm in the breeze way between the
backstage and the Green Room. On Thursday evening the finger foods will
included sandwhiches, pizza, veggies and fruit. On Friday evening:
tacos, veggies, fruits, and other various snack foods.

Breakfast will not be provided: There will be no
Friday morning breakfast due to the time restrictions placed on the
cast. The school has asked all cast members to eat breakfast either at
home or at the school cafeteria and report directly to their class so
that the disruption to all the students' school day is kept to a
minimum.

Snacks: During practices, we have been unable to
provide snacks in the breeze way while at Nimitz because of the very
short intermission time and limitations Nimitz places on food and water
in their facilities. It is unclear at this point, whether time
constraints will allow for snacks to be served during intermission at
the Thursday and Friday performances. So please encourage all cast
members to eat before the evening performances.

Water: Will be provided for the cast and is available in the breeze way throughout the night performances.

Wrap Party: Is held following the Friday Night
Performance and we encourage everyone to join us for fun, food and music
in the Nimitz Cafeteria to celebrate the wonderful job all our cast
members and parents have done in putting together this
amazing production.

Lost ItemMicrophone not returned Wednesday evening. The mic is an
Electro-Voice (EV) N/D 767a. It’s distinctive in that it’s shorter than
the other mics being used and the casing is more soft rather than sleek. Hopefully it can be tracked down fairly easy.
I know it’s a busy day for everyone. I appreciate your help.

Story book themed movie:
According to the official synopsis... "Way before he met Shrek, the
legendary Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) goes on a heroic journey,
teaming up with mastermind Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and
street-smart Kitty (Salma Hayek) to steal the famed Goose that lays the
Golden Eggs." The film will be released on November 4, 2011. Here's a
link to the teaser, and here's a link to the first theatrical trailer.

Please be in the Nimitz Theatre at 6:00pm, on stage for warm ups. Time is crucial this last week, please be on time.

Please have your child in costume, not in makeup, with all needed props. We will do make-up on Wednesday night.

New security check-in/check-out procedure:

When you check your child in, you will be given a card
with your actor's name on it, we will use the cards Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday.

If you are collecting your actor, keep the card, sign the line for that day, and be ready to trade it in at the end of rehearsal.

If someone else is collecting your actor,
write the name of the person that will pick them up on the card and give
it back to our check-in table.

Mon, Tues, Wed

Please go over lines, cues, and songs! There will be NO calling of
lines this week. Things happen on stage and they need to rehearse
helping one another to fix minor problems.

Get rest, eat well, wash hands, do not share food and drink. Bring water and drink it on breaks!

Important : Absolutely no food or drink in the theater or band hall (green room). This rule
applies to parents and children. This is a Nimitz rule, and we are
borrowing their space, so please respect the opportunity to borrow a
very nice theater.

Thursday & Friday 6:30 pm CurtainOpening night is THIS Thursday!

Call time for all actors will be published tomorrow along with information about the wrap party following Friday evening's performance.

We feed the children dinner before the shows and give them plenty of time arrive, eat, and relax.

Friday Morning Student Show 9/23

The
cafeteria has limited space and there is simply not enough room
for the students and teachers plus parents of the cast. In order for
the performance to be safely enjoyed by the students and faculty, the school has asked
that any parents who come to the campus Friday morning plan to work during the show in the green room.

Children should come to school (at regular time) in costume and report to
their class for attendance and lunch. Just pack your Big Bad TShirt to wear after the show!

Actors will be called from their rooms at various times beginning at 8:00 for any prep needs.

Remember: students can not be
signed out after the play because they are tired. The district policy is clear, if
students leave during the school day, they can not return for extracurricular activities (the Friday evening performance) unless
they have a doctor's note.

T Shirts & Tickets

T-SHIRTS will be available on Wednesday at dress rehearsal. Actors should plan to wear these on Friday.

TICKETS will continue to be available through the office or at rehearsal.Please remember, one of the reasons we perform at Nimitz is because
at CHE we would have to limit ticket sales for every family. Performing in a
larger space enables us to invite any number of people we wish. Using this theater is a great
gift and opportunity for our students. ( We have
sold over 300 tickets for Friday night already!)

I want to thank each of the families, parents, and children who have invested so much of their heart and soul into our production this year. I would also like to thank Amy for her guidance and leadership of our actors in creating a positive experience they can take with them long after the play is over. I am very excited that our actors get to experience the excitement of performing in the theater at Nimitz.

As most of you know, I welcome input from our community and take it into consideration in my decision making. I understand that my decision to not have a performance at CHE has created some hurt feelings among parents. I would like to apologize to anyone who viewed my decision as not supporting the children of Castle Hills. While it is difficult to always satisfy everyone, please know that I always try to consider what is in the best interest of our students.

Amy and I have spent a great deal of time discussing concerns. We have made some adjustments to accommodate a school performance on Friday, 9-23-11, in the morning.

All Call6:30p rehearsal this evening at Nimitz Middle Schoolfor a map, visit maps.google.com.

We'll be running through the entire show with Ending 2. Warm ups begin at 6:30 pm. Logistics/Instructions

Parking is limited at Nimitz, please arrive early enough to find a parking spot.

Since we are off campus, we will be checking the children into and out of the rehearsal. Please walk with your child to the Breezeway located between the Auditorium & the Band Hall (near the Jackson Keller and Blanco Rd intersection) and sign them in so that they can be ready for warm ups at 6:30pm.

If your actor will be leaving with a different adult, please bring a note to let us know who will be picking them up.

Did you pack your actor's busy box? Please discuss using CHAMPS behavior with your children, focusing on the task at hand, and paying attention to the whole theatrical process. There is so much to learn here... do they know what a "green room" is? We're in the final stretch and if we respect the facilities and each other and focus on the work in rehearsal, we will celebrate the magic at show time and rock out at the wrap party! The hardest part is waiting between your action, and you can set your actor up to succeed by ensuring they know how to fill that time in a positive and quiet manner.

Parent support is still needed in the green room during rehearsals. Please let us know at check in if you can help.

Email troubles...There was a bump in the email road, after the Big Bad Spreadsheet went out on 9/7, a chunk of addresses somehow popped off the email distribution list. My apologies if you've missed the messages - don't worry, the jokes were terrible. I hope that by now you all feel well informed, and remember that the emails are posted on the www.castlehillspta.com website too. Please check the site to be sure that you haven't missed important information.

All Call tonightParents, especially of our younger actors, please remember that your child will be in the green room and need to have quiet activities with them to occupy their time between their appearances on stage, and a water bottle (that remains off stage).Rehearsal Schedule

Song and Dance Schedule TBA (we will choose songs and dances that need the most work)

September 16

Friday

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Run show with Ending One

ALL Call

GoldilocksIn a little house deep in the green woods lived a family of three happy bears. One morning the three bears went for a walk. Just then a lovely little girl named Goldilocks snuck into the three bears' house.

Goldilocks tasted Papa's bowl of porridge. It was too hot! Mama Bear's was too cool. But the little bowl of porridge was just right! Next Goldilocks sat in the bears' three chairs. Papa's chair was too low. Mama's chair was way too high. But the little chair was just right! Uh-oh! The little chair collapsed into pieces! So Goldilocks went for a nap. Papa's bed was too hard. Mama's felt too soft, but the little bed was just right!

Just then the three bears returned from their morning stroll. "Who's eaten all my porridge?" cried Baby Bear. "Who's been sitting in our chairs?" grumped Papa Bear. "Who's broken my chair?" yelled Baby Bear. Then he shrieked, "Who's that sleeping in my bed?" Goldilocks woke up with a start. Lickety-split, the lively little girl leapt from Baby Bear's bed. She ran out the door and into the green woods. What became of Goldilocks? The three bears never knew! (But we do, she's in the Kingdom Court!)

- paraphrased. First recorded in narrative form by British author and poet Robert Southey

This weeks rehearsals went very well. It hard for students to "glue" the production back together again, it takes time. Monday went extremely well, tonight's rehearsal was a little rough. I have some suggestions to make things run smoother.

Run lines with your students. They not only have to learn their own lines, but the lines before theirs. In order to speed up, they must know these "cues".

Please be on time. We run the rehearsal as late as possible and the times are carefully planned. If a good portion of the cast is late, rehearsal runs late.

Be in the backstage greenroom with your child during rehearsals. We have volunteers for the show, but not for rehearsals. It is your job to care for your child and monitor his or her behavior. This is a community production, largely orchestrated by parents. You are ultimately responsible for your child. Monday evening, a child was hurt outside and unchaperoned. Tonight, the students were running all over the school. Mr. Wicker asked us to not allow this to happen. The children that were running around were our youngest members of our cast.

Suggestions. Take the students to different rooms. Watch for entrances. Take each group: the fairies to a room, the creatures to a room, the elves to a room, and the princesses to a room. Spread out. Bring movies, games, colors, and homework. Bring QUIET activities to promote quiet behavior. Your children will be waiting during the actual performances as well. This needs to be an expectation. Many parents expressed frustration at the end of rehearsal this evening. I cannot be in two places at once. You need to watch your children.

Tomorrow, students will run songs and dance numbers. We will begin with the big, all cast numbers and work our way through the show. We will continue this on Thursday. On Friday night, at Nimitz, we will run the entire show.

A special thanks to the students and parents that represented the cast and handed out invitations to important patrons.

Remember, there are only 6 more rehearsals! The last ones are the most challenging, they are exhausting and hard work, but there are glimmers of brilliance, which I feel fully confident, will become a magical evening for all!

Green Tutu - last seen Saturday morningGreen Tutu - last seen Saturday morning

GREENROOM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

As you know, the greenroom is a hectic place. We've made several calls for volunteers (even to those who signed up for that committee) but have had far too few volunteers. Thank you to Mindy Juettemeyer for jumping in to help! We will have a few teacher voluteers that will be helping as of next week, but we still need at least 6 more parents who are willing to sit with the children, keep them quietly engaged, and recommend designating one parent as a "runner" to keep watch on the stage and communicate with the parents in the green room of the rehearsal status. This part of the production is VERY important to helping the little ones feel engaged in the processes. If you are willing to actively participate in this process, please email Wendy - wendy_stengel@yahoo.com

(Updated 9/15/2011 - post from Mindy)

From: Mindy Juettemeyer

At rehearsal tonight I will have a sign up sheet for parents who want to help with the "Green Room" I have outlined jobs to sign up for. I think this will help things run smoother. Come find me to sign up for a positions.Rehearsal Schedule

September 15

Thursday

6:30 – 7:30

TBA

Song and Dance Schedule TBA at Tuesday’sRehearsal (we will choose songs and dances that need the most work)

September 16

Friday

6:30 – 8:30

Run with Ending One

ALL

September 19

Monday

6:30 – 8:00

Run with Ending Two

ALL

September 20

Tuesday

6:30 – 8:30

Run Thru Partial Dress with Ending ??, Curtain Call

ALL

September 21

Wednesday

6:30 – 8:30

Run Thru Dress with Ending ?? and Curtain Call

ALL

September 22

Thursday

6:30 – 8:30

Opening Night !!

Yipeee!

September 23

Friday

6:30 – 8:30

Performance

Alright!

September 23

Friday

8:30-9:30

Cast Party

Well Done!

Performance Schedule

Due to the cost of setting up 2 sound systems and the level of exhaustion among the cast members, we will NOT be doing a student performance at Castle Hills this year on Friday morning. We will have our 2 evening performances on Thursday and Friday nights at Nimitz and they will be spectacular!

Where to FocusPlease work with your actors to refresh their memories with ACT ONE lines ad lyrics. Many students are not remembering their lines, it has been awhile since we rehearsed ACT ONE. Please go over the lines with your actors BEFORE rehearsal if possible.

If the your students are in KINS, please send a note asking one of the counselors are another student to run lines with them during KINS. They could also play the CD at KINS and practice. This would help everyone remember. 8 more rehearsals till we open....we are in the final countdown.

Rehearsal ScheduleRehearsals will begin at NIMITZ middle school on Friday. I will send out directions in Tuesday's email.

Song and Dance Schedule TBA at Monday’sRehearsal (we will choose songs and dances that need the most work)

September 15

Thursday

6:30 – 7:30 pm

TBA

Song and Dance Schedule TBA at Tuesday’sRehearsal (we will choose songs and dances that need the most work)

September 16

Friday

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Run with Ending One

ALL

Snoopy the Pied PiperNow on Netflix:

It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown (2000)

The "Peanuts" Gang star in this animated adaptation of the classic fairy tale. As Charlie Brown tells his younger sister Sally the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, in their imaginations the story comes to life, with Snoopy (Bill Melendez) playing the musician who promises to rid the town of rats using his enchanted music. Snoopy the Piper is good to his word, but when the town's rulers refuse to pay him, he takes his revenge in a most unusual way. The home video release also features a short interview with "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz; this was the first new "Peanuts" special to be released after Schulz's death on Feb. 12, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi